When it comes to the Las Vegas Raiders, it’s been two different tales this offseason—one that sees them as an upstart that’ll surprise some folks. The other is holding onto old, preconceived notions.
First off, let’s consider the source of all of this. FS1’s Colin Cowherd has made a career on ridiculous hot takes and unceremonious flip flopping; let’s just call it what it is. However, we’re in late July, right before training camp gets underway; it’s “hot take season.” He recently made waves by going after the Silver and Black as an organization while also ridiculing its proud and loyal fanbase.
He’s also made it clear that he’s “happy” for Josh Jacobs now that the former Raiders running back took his services to Green Bay. He went so far as to compare the team to Disneyland, of all places. Cowherd used Jacobs’ recent words about the Raiders as a basis to criticize Mark Davis’s organization. If you recall, Jacobs has been making the media rounds and hasn’t been shy about giving his thoughts on the inner workings—his story about people “being okay with losing” definitely made headlines.
To that end, Cowherd went in on the Raiders’ brass.
“A lot of good employees, but you couldn’t do your best work as an employee because management was a revolving door full of clowns. There’s only so much you can do. That’s the Raiders. The Raiders are that carnival that shows up and hosts it in your high school parking lot.”
Colin Cowherd makes it personal when talking Antonio Pierce and the Raiders
When it comes to dysfunction, one can’t help but agree with Cowherd on a certain level. He’s right; the team hasn’t produced much of anything on the field, and when the team is in the news, it’s often for less than flattering reasons. Nevertheless, Davis has proven to be a shrewd businessman—you don’t turn the Raiders into one of the most valuable products with just luck.
On the other hand, this is where things take a turn. Antonio Pierce only had interim head coaching experience prior to accepting the full-time position; that’s true. However, as a former Super Bowl-winning linebacker, he probably understands the Raiders locker room better than any coach this century. The notion that people like Cowherd are bringing his financial situation into the fray as some sort of negative towards his coaching ability is disrespectful and irresponsible.
“Raiders fans are so odd and delusional, they get very angry. They’re always asking you, ‘How do you think the Raiders will do this year?’ I don’t know they’re in a division with Andy Reid, Sean Payton, Jim Harbaugh, Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert, and a promising rookie named Bo Nix with 61 college starts, and the Raiders have a defensive head coach who has $28 million in financial debt because of car dealerships gone sideways.”
The AFC West?
Oh, yeah, the feared AFC West. Is this the same division in which the Raiders went 4-2 last season? Yeah, very tough indeed. Also, if you’re using Bo Nix as a basis to say that the Broncos will be a better team, what can you really say about that? Cowherd is right about one thing, though: Raiders fans do get angry. They’re angry that their team gets overlooked every offseason, while the Chargers have been media darlings every year only for the Raiders to finish better than them.
This offseason, people are just dying to get on the Raiders’ bulletin board.
*Top Photo: FS1’s The Herd
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